Reporting Identity Theft

Reporting identity theft is an extremely important thing to do immediately upon realizing that a crime has been perpetrated upon someone's most personal space, his own identity. Because this kind of theft often takes place without the victim knowing about it for weeks or months, an extremely large amount of damage can be done to a person's credit and reputation. This damage may take hundreds of dollars to repair and the reputation may take years to revive. Consequently, reporting identity theft as quickly as possible is a very large factor in minimizing the damage that these thieves can inflict. It is not unusual for there to be actual bankruptcies filed under the name of the victim after the criminal has used up every bit of credit card balances and other good faith loan provisions that were intended for the victim of the crime.

One of the first places a person can go in reporting identity theft when there is real suspicion of being a victim of this crime is to the Federal Trade Commission which is the country's consumer protection agency. This agency collects complaints about companies, business practices, the stealing of a person's most personal information and even episodes of violence in the media. This agency may be able to help law enforcement agencies link similar crimes in the same area and perhaps bring a swift end to a criminal's career. Going to the FTC's website can give a person a great deal of information about the procedures on dealing with this crime. In fact, the FTC will have links to many other resources for getting help at a very distressing time.

But before contacting the Federal Trade Commission's website, reporting identity theft should begin with the contacting of the credit bureau's that report and manage credit scores. Equifax, Experian and Trans Union are the three major bureaus and when one is contacted, that bureau will contact the other two. The Federal Trade Commission does not recommend contacting Experian because callers are exposed to a sales pitch that can end up costing the caller money. The recently passed Fair Credit Reporting Act allows a victim to place a report of fraud for ninety days. During that time, a victim will need to present a police report and show evidence of someone trying to open fraudulent accounts or unauthorized use of already existing accounts. A seven year fraud alert may be placed on the victim's credit accounts, meaning that any attempt to open new accounts must be reported to the victim for permission.

Reporting identity theft also means that a victim must ask for a copy of his credit reports. One free report from each of the bureaus is available by law each year to every consumer. This is in addition to the free credit reports that are given when a consumer reports a fraud to the three credit bureaus. This makes it possible for a victim to check his credit history at least twice a year to look for more signs of fraud. A careful scrutiny of each report will give the victim an opportunity to note all anomalies and each bureau is then required to block all future information regarding those discrepancies from inquiries made by lenders, employers, etc. Making clear and decisive moves as quickly as possible lessens the impact upon a victim's credit standing.

Once all of the reporting identity theft steps have been taken by a victim, there are still issues to be faced. For instance, if current credit or debit accounts are being used, a person must request new cards immediately. There will be forms to fill out and they should be sent to the address where billing inquiries are sent, not to the payments address. If debt collectors begin calling to collect on fraudulent unpaid bills, the victim must make sure to get all the information from the collector such as name of the company and the collector, phone number and address. In addition, wiring to the collection agency with copies of the fraud report filed with the credit bureaus is very important. A person needs to ask the collection agency to send a letter in wiring that the account is closed so far as they are concerned.

Reporting identity theft to the Social Security Administration will not be fruitful. This agency does not get involved in the criminal use of another person's ten digit number for fraudulent purposes. But they will respond to social security benefit fraud, employment fraud or welfare fraud. One of the great assurances that Christians have through even such trying times as identity theft, sickness and even the death of a loved one is the ongoing comfort of God. "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5)

Reporting identity theft is a time consuming and often frustrating experience. Most of us want something done the very moment we demand it to be done, yet with this process in place for reporting such crime, it is often weeks or months before the fire is put out. And in some cases, it may take years and thousands of dollars to resolve. Passports, phone service, student loans, driver license misuse and many other issues can come into play with such a crime. Don't give up in hopelessness and remember that many other people have already gone through this mess before you. It will be resolved, and you can get your good name back!

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